Restoring/Upgrading 2011 Tahoe PPV

[techbiker]

It's possible our trucks were designed and manufactured by the 'old GM' hence the weak interiors. The interiors on the new trucks are really nice, even on the '15 PPVs.

Thankfully these parts aren't terribly expensive to source so it's more of an annoyance at our ends.

The cracking dash is the only major interior expense I think. The dash alone costs more than $300. Add in the cost to replace all of the cheap trim pieces you break and you could spend $600 and tons of time just to fix a few cracks.

 

[techbiker]

I just finished replacing the components in my rear left door. In total, I was missing the following:

-Door card with handles and misc. accessories
-Moisture seal/barrier
-Interior lock control rod
-Speaker
-Window sealing strip

After wiping the door down, replacing all of the missing components, sealing holes, and installing Noico as well as a new speaker, the rear left door is (mostly) done! I filled the dog door shield holes with clear silicone instead of white unfortunately. I will scrape them out later and refill with white sealant.

The Noico definitely helps, however I would couple it with a quality amplifier and speaker set. The door has much more heft and closes with a solid "thunk".

P.S. I had to solder on a new speaker wire and connector. The old one had completely corroded out.

 

[spectralen]

Did you have to bend your lock rods, make them? My Tahoe came with the rods in the glove compartment but they were straight. I thought this was odd.

 

[techbiker]

Did you have to bend your lock rods, make them? My Tahoe came with the rods in the glove compartment but they were straight. I thought this was odd.

I'm not sure about the front lock rods, however I bought the rears (pre-bent) for $5 a piece. Note that you have to remove the lock assemblies to install the rods. I wouldn't bother bending the rears because the bends are so intricate.

P.S. I installed my rear right door panel! I had to replace the speaker pig tail, Noico, lock rod, seal dog shield holes, replace door panel trim, etc. In the end the process took 3.5 hours but was definitely worth it. Sound quality is much better, the rear doors work, and there is much less wind noise now.

 

[spectralen]

Where did you get the pre-bent rods from?

 

[techbiker]

Where did you get the pre-bent rods from?

I bought the rods from Friendly Chevrolet. https://www.friendlychevy.com/search-parts.htm Apparently Friendly Chevy operates GM Parts Club too. The dealership is a bit of a drive for me, but they had the rods in stock at their warehouse. In fact, almost everything I've ordered from them arrives in 1 day.

Plus their prices are awesome!

 

[kronus]

I realize it's been over a year since you've updated this thread, but when going through all of your suspension, did you replace the springs as well as the struts? I read through the whole thread, but I couldn't recall seeing a comment about replacing the springs. Just curious as I'm getting all of the suspension bits together (pretty much the same list as yours) and I'm wondering if springs are worth it or not.

 

[CobraKing]

@kronus I believe Dallas ( @techbiker ) re-used the springs and just replaced the struts. On the previous page he has a picture of his truck parked besides a 15+ Tahoe and he mentions that it is lower. Do hope he's OK, miss his informative posts.

 

[techbiker]

Hey sorry about the long break!- I've been crushed by a bunch of other projects the last few years and just haven't had much time to work on the Tahoe. Just saw this old thread on Google. Yup, I reused the existing PPV springs. I believe the PPV springs are stiffer so I didn't think it was worth replacing them at 70k. I was going to follow up on this thread with my latest suspension overhaul but it morphed into a new thread. 2011 PPV Suspension Overhaul #2 12/20 | Chevy Tahoe Forum | GMC Yukon Forum | Tahoe Z71 | Cadillac Escalade - Tahoe Yukon Forum

I'm still happy to help with questions and will do my best to answer.

 

[1BADI5]

I am going to drop the SUV off at the dealership to take care of the cooling fan recall.

Do you have more information on this?